The informal settlement of Goliath Estate in Kraaifontein has received a newly-donated community facility.
The founder of the initiative is Lecille Poole who runs a local non-profit organisation in the community called Shirley Giving Hands which she started in 2017 and stands as a beacon of hope and generosity in the community.
Lecille said that the facility was made available through donations and was officially opened on Friday.
The converted shipping container will be used for training and education, workshops, sports, arts and crafts classes, counselling and ultimately community development in the informal settlement.
She explains: “Goliath Estate is a forgotten area, there are a lot of developments happening around the area. The first time I got to the community was to do feeding and I saw the people are uneducated.
"According to them life is just about alcohol, partying, drugs and drinking. There are children in the community who have never been to school and there is a lot of unemployment because they do not know how to set up a CV.
"I want to help and uplift the community and give them skills development and see how we can get the community in a society and into a workplace. Most NPO’s only come for a day and never come back.
There are a lot of good and clever children in Goliath Estate who can make it far in life but they don’t have a mother and father figure, so I started falling in love with the community because I love helping, I have the heart and passion for it.”
With the opening of the facility on Saturday about 150 people were fed. She added that they will be doing a feeding every day in Goliath Estate and plan to have an afternoon programme with the children.
“We will be working full time in the community with volunteers. There are more than 500 people in the community. I am also a gender-based violence councilor and plan to take them under my wing and council those in need. It will be a lot but I am looking forward to getting started.
We are also going to create a safe space for the children through planting which will also be a form of therapy for the children and helping them heal.”
Poole is appealing for any sponsorship towards the community facility as they plan to have a fence, paving, electricity and food towards the daily feeding scheme to please contact her on 076 234 3147.